


First Album Was Better

by deirdreshannon



Category: Nancy Drew (Video Games), Nancy Drew - Fandom, Nancy Drew Games, Nancy Drew PC Games
Genre: Bisexual, F/F, Game 33: Midnight in Salem, Kissing, Lesbian, One Shot, Sapphic, Slow Burn, bisexual nancy drew, deircy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-26
Updated: 2020-11-26
Packaged: 2021-03-09 19:54:34
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,519
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27721727
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/deirdreshannon/pseuds/deirdreshannon
Summary: Nancy and Deirdre listen to music in Deirdre's car after a long day of sleuthing in Salem. Deirdre reveals that her feelings for Nancy go far beyond jealousy.
Relationships: Nancy Drew/Deirdre Shannon
Comments: 2
Kudos: 11





	First Album Was Better

It was a crisp October evening, and detective Nancy Drew had spent the entire day grilling the townspeople of Salem, MA. By her side was Deirdre Shannon, a witty criminologist who had always envied Nancy’s prowess as a detective. In their hometown of River Heights, IL, locals often joked that Deirdre was “the girl who could’ve been Nancy Drew”. Deirdre was talented in her own right, so this annoyed her to no end. Unfortunately for Deirdre, there was no competing with Nancy. The sleuth had solved 32 cases at the age of 22, and Deirdre? Well, she was fresh out of college, so how was she supposed to come close to that? The truth was, despite her jealousy, Deirdre admired Nancy much more than she’d ever care to admit. Nancy was the brightest girl Deirdre knew, but she’d rather walk over hot coals than reveal this thought to a single soul.

But what led Nancy to Salem, of all places? And to Deirdre, of all people? The titian-haired detective was halfway across the world, looking for the Book of Apologies (from the Salem Witch Trials) when she got Deirdre’s call. Deirdre’s cousin, Mei Parry, was about to be arrested for a crime she didn’t commit — the arson at Hathorne House in Salem. Coincidentally, both of their cases were intertwined, so the two of them teamed up, to Deirdre’s chagrin. Yet, for all of their hours of sleuthing in Salem, they’d made little headway. Neither of them had a clue about who burned the damned house down, especially since Mei refused to give an alibi. The other suspects weren’t much easier to work with, and to top it all off, the town judge was useless.

After talking to Judge Danforth and leaving Salem’s courthouse, the two detectives decided to pack it up for the day and climbed into Deirdre’s car. Deirdre made a crack about the Judge’s horrible posture, but was otherwise quiet.

“Long day, right?” mused Nancy. “Some of these suspects are just impossible. And Olivia Ravencroft’s ‘witch tour’ was barely even that… we had to trek around that graveyard with a tablet just to learn anything about this town. That witch wasn’t even the one giving the tour.”

“Yeah, well. ‘Olivia the Witch’ has been a giant fraud for as long as I’ve known her,” Deirdre replied snappily. _Clearly she’s in a mood,_ Nancy thought. A thick silence hung in the air after this; Deirdre clearly wasn’t planning on making any more conversation.

Nancy examined the brunette’s face. Deirdre simply stared straight into the night, eyes focused on the road ahead, hands grasping the steering wheel. Once they reached a long stoplight, Deirdre broke the silence by turning on some sort of indie pop music. Nancy vaguely remembered that the band was called the Analog Prophets, since her friend George was a fan.

Finally, the two detectives pulled into the Parrys’ driveway. They could’ve gotten out of the car. They could’ve turned in for the night with few words exchanged. Yet, something kept them within those doors. Neither of them could place it at the time, but it was as inevitable as the fire that drew them into Salem in the first place.

“So, any thoughts?” Nancy asked, straining to be heard over the drums and loud synths of the indie jam. 

“First album was better.” Deirdre smirked, arms crossed.

“Yeah, totally! I mean, yeah it’s good,” Nancy blurted. She actually had never heard the album in question before this moment, and she knew almost nothing about the Analog Prophets. _Why do I want to impress Deirdre?_ A confusion that Nancy couldn’t place swarmed her thoughts.

“You like this?” Deirdre replied with surprise. “It doesn’t seem like your taste, Drew.”

“Why wouldn’t I?” Nancy countered.

“Well, they were much better before they changed their bassist,” Deirdre scoffed. Nancy didn’t know what to say to this trivia. _Of course Deirdre would say that._

“I meant, do you have any thoughts about the case?”

Deirdre looked away. “I don’t like the judge. Maybe he burned down Hathorne House. He’s so determined to get Mei arrested, and for no good reason.”

“Well, she won’t give an alibi. Deirdre, I think she has to be hiding something. It’s not too late for her to...“ Nancy trailed off. She didn’t think Deirdre would like where she was going with that. But Mei’s refusal to cooperate was highly suspicious. What if she really did burn down Hathorne House?

Deirdre turned back to Nancy and glowered. She knew exactly where Nancy was going with that suggestion. “Even you, Drew? I thought you were here to help Mei, and my family,” Deirdre said sharply. She paused, drawing in a breath. “Why’d you even come to Salem?”

Nancy lightly touched Deirdre’s shoulder. “Because this is important to me. I know you wanted me here, too. You could’ve called anyone else, but you chose me.”

Deirdre laughed derisively, shrugging off Nancy’s hand. “Who else was I going to call? You’re supposedly the best detective there is.” Deirdre looked out the window again. Nancy cringed, realizing she had struck a nerve. “You know, that’s all anyone’s ever told me for my entire life,” she snapped. Tears were forming in her hazel-green eyes, but she looked back at Nancy again, who was still in awe. “It was exhausting. Having this dream to solve cases, to be a world-renowned detective, while someone else was already receiving all of the praise. You had everything I wanted.”

“…Everything?” Nancy was shocked by this revelation. She didn’t think she’d live to see the day that Deirdre showed any weakness towards Nancy. Deirdre had a well-kept façade of being nonchalant, unbothered, and confident. Most people couldn’t see through it, but being as intuitive as she was, Nancy knew Deirdre was jealous of her.

“Yes, everything. Not just the fame. You had a dad who cared about you, while mine was either at work or on a private jet 90% of the time. You had two best friends who’d do anything for you, while I couldn’t get a single friend to stick around for more than three months. And you had Ned Nickerson.” Deirdre looked down, tears rolling onto her green jacket.

The car was quiet, except for the crooning lead singer of the Analog Prophets. Finally, Nancy broke her silence. “Well, if it makes you feel any better, you shouldn’t be jealous of me and Ned. I don’t think we’re going to make it for much longer. He’s too good to cheat on me, but I know there’s some other girl at his house as we speak.” Nancy took a deep breath. “We’ve been together for so long. So, so long. I think we’ve burned each other out.”

Deirdre fiddled with the buttons on her coat. “I didn’t want to be with Ned,” she murmured. “Yeah, it’s true, I was always angry when I saw you two flaunting your love all around town together. And, God, all of that PDA was a bit much. But I didn’t know why, so I just assumed I liked Ned and was jealous of you.”

The redhead and the brunette sat very still next to each other in that car, neither daring to let their eyes meet. They both knew the gravity of what the latter had confessed, but Deirdre was too afraid to continue any further. 

“But it was more than that, wasn’t it?” Nancy guessed, filling in the gaps of their mutual understanding. “It was for me, too. It still is.” In saying the words, Nancy felt a wave of simultaneous anticipation and relief wash over her body. 

Deirdre was studying Nancy’s face now. A nearby streetlight illuminated her, spotlighting her temples and lips. She’d give anything to touch those lips just once, but she had to be sure that Nancy meant what she said. “Drew, are you…“

Before Deirdre could finish that thought, Nancy slowly leaned towards Deirdre and cupped her face. “Please, Deirdre,” Nancy pleaded softly. “Just hold my hand.” Deirdre’s hand easily found Nancy’s, like they were two ends of a string. The two girls stared at one another, hesitant to kiss, to cross the line between friendship and romance, especially with thoughts of Ned gnawing at Nancy’s mind. Eventually, neither of them cared, and they kissed in the forgiving darkness of Deirdre’s car to their own soundtrack: the Analog Prophets’ second album. 

“You have no idea how long I’ve wanted this,” Deirdre whispered to Nancy, then kissed her again.

Nancy smiled to herself. “Me too,” she said. She had always thought that if she were to be with anyone other than Ned, it would be Frank, but she had it all wrong before tonight. She had always been drawn to Deirdre, but it took years for her to realize that Deirdre wanted her too.

Nancy ran her hands through Deirdre’s short, dark hair, kissing her again. All she wanted was to kiss Deirdre a million times to make up for the years they spent apart. The car was their kingdom and their reign would end in the morning, but what mattered was now.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading this far! I'm a huge fan of the Nancy/Deirdre relationship dynamic in the Nancy Drew Games. After playing that scene in MID where Nancy and Deirdre are sitting in the car together, I knew I had to write this one shot. Expect more Deircy stories from me in the future.


End file.
